When the four dogs were two years old an epidemic of dog sickness broke out in Worcester, and it was then that Dr. Hodge hoped to discover whether or not alcohol was doing any special harm to Bum and Tipsy. Indeed it was just at this point that they were able to be especially useful, for when the epidemic of dog sickness appeared they were among the first to take it. More than that, they were so very ill for two weeks that Dr. Hodge says he "hardly expected either of them to live from day to day."

For a week they would not eat anything and he "had to drench them with hot milk and eggs at frequent intervals" to keep them from starving.

Of course, without a moment's hesitation, Dr. Hodge stopped giving them alcohol while they were ill, and at the same time everything in the world was done to make them comfortable and to cure them as speedily as possible.

In spite of every care, however, they did certainly have a hard time. For several days both dogs were blind, and they grew exceedingly thin. Nevertheless they were so well cared for that little by little they recovered. From that time on, however, Tipsy was blind in one eye.

Dr. Hodge says that both Bum and Tipsy were just as ill as they could possibly be and live. On the other hand, the dogs that took no alcohol hardly seemed to have the disease at all. They did not feel as comfortable as usual for several days, but they did not lose their appetite, they did not suffer, and they did not grow thin; in fact, they were hardly disturbed enough to be called ill.

Naturally Dr. Hodge decided that dogs that have alcohol in their food get sick more easily, stay sick longer, and suffer more than dogs that do not have it.

This then was the first great lesson which Bum and Tipsy taught the scientists. But this was not enough; there were other lessons to be learned. For this purpose Dr. Hodge now made some delicate little machines and strapped one of them to the collar of each dog. By this machine he could tell from day to day just how much exercise each dog took. He wished to find out which of them did the most running and jumping and playing, because this would show which dogs felt the most vigorous.

Some people think that alcohol makes men spry, but it turned out the other way with the dogs. These machines showed that although Bum and Tipsy had now recovered from their illness, and although they were cheerful and had good appetites, still they were not so active as Nig and Topsy; in fact, the machines proved that they did only about half as much running around as the other two dogs.

Dr. Hodge then made another test in the same direction. While Bum and Tipsy still continued to have a little alcohol in their food every day, he took all four dogs to the gymnasium of Clark University in Worcester and trained them to run after a rubber ball and bring it back to the starting point.

The room was three hundred feet long, and he threw the ball one hundred times for each game of practice. He threw it fast, made the dogs work hard, and kept careful count, for the sake of finding out which dog brought the ball back oftenest. The result was the same story over again. No matter how hard Bum and Tipsy worked, Nig and Topsy beat them every time, for they brought the ball back twice as often. Yet even though they did not do so much, when the game was over Bum and Tipsy were always more tired than Nig and Topsy. This showed that dogs that take alcohol every day are not so strong as other dogs.

Through all these days, and in these different experiments, Bum and Tipsy were not suffering in any way. Indeed, they felt quite well and happy; but they made it very plain that when dogs take alcohol regularly they are not so vigorous as dogs that go without it. Compare the second picture with the one at the end of the last lesson, and see whether you think Bum and Tipsy look brighter or more dull than when that was taken.

While Dr. Hodge was studying this subject he noticed another great difference: Nig and Topsy always behaved like any other well-fed, healthy, jolly creatures. When any stranger spoke to them they were friendly, and wagged their tails cheerfully. When anything happened that they did not understand they were curious about it and bravely went to investigate. When whistles sounded and bells rang furiously they barked furiously too, but they did not act afraid. Just here, then, was the difference. Bum and Tipsy were timid and frightened over everything and over nothing. When strangers came they went off to some corner of their kennel and crouched there. When whistles blew and bells rang they yelped as only frightened dogs can, and sometimes they seemed to be terribly frightened when nothing at all was in sight. Perhaps they were having a sort of dog delirium tremens, but nobody knows about that. All we do know is that Bum and Tipsy always seemed timid and afraid where Nig and Topsy were brave and full of fun.

After Bum and Tipsy had been taking alcohol for about three years Dr. Hodge decided to see whether they could recover and be vigorous again like other dogs. He therefore stopped the alcohol. Tipsy died soon afterwards, but Bum lived on. He grew stronger every day until he was almost as strong as Nig, his brother. He played as much and could bring the rubber ball back almost as fast and often. Even yet, however, he was rather timid. He was not taking alcohol now, and everything was being done to increase his health and vigor. Yet during the winter of 1900 a sad thing happened: he began to have trouble with both eyes. They grew worse and worse, and by spring, Bum was totally blind.

Later came another calamity. He had a painful and terrible skin disease, which lasted a long time, and after that he looked like a poor old, blind, feeble dog, but Nig was strong and healthy and happy. He didn't seem old at all, though he was Bum's twin brother.

What difference do you suppose Dr. Hodge discovered in the puppies of the four dogs? During those four years Bum and Tipsy had twenty-three puppy children, but so many of them were deformed, and so many were dead when they were born, that only four lived to grow up. During the same years Nig and Topsy had forty-five puppies. Four of them were deformed a very little, none were dead when they were born, and forty-one lived.

So this is the end of the story of Bum and Tipsy.

Let us cherish their memory, for the lessons they taught may save thousands of human lives.